Newton-John Leads AUSTRALIA PLAYS BROADWAY At Carnegie Hall On 1/20

Australia Week 2009 proudly presents Australia Plays Broadway, a celebration of Australia's most acclaimed musical artists on Tuesday, January 20 at Carnegie Hall. The one-night-only concert event features Grammy award-winning star of stage and screen, Olivia Newton-John and performances by star of Melbourne's Wicked Amanda Harrison, acclaimed stage and screen performer Simon Burke (host), singer and chart sensation Lior, singer/songwriter Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, iconic rocker Jimmy Barnes, vocalist Ursula Yovich, crooner David Campbell, twin cellists Pei-Jee and Pei-Sian Ng and many more.

The Australia Plays Broadway performance is part of the 6th Annual G'DAY USA: Australia Week 2009 from January 11-24, marked by events in Los Angeles, San Francisco and culminating in New York. Considered a showcase of all things Australian, the week features events highlighting trade and investment, to food and wine, film, arts, fashion, indigenous culture and tourism. Australia Plays Broadway is part of the foundation's ongoing goal to promote Australia's multicultural talent and celebrates these remarkable artists' journey from Australia to the stage at Carnegie Hall.

Making its U.S. debut and anchoring the orchestral element of the show is the internationally acclaimed Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Sponsored by the South Australian Government and conducted by Arvo Volmer, the grand 70-member orchestra will collaborate with the artists to bring an amazing sound to Carnegie Hall.

Leading Australian producers Ross Mollison (SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW, Spiegelworld) and Wayne Harrison (former director of the Sydney Theatre Company) helm this unique event as producers and directors. Australia Plays Broadway expresses the imagination and calibre of Australian culture through a collaboration of diverse elements of the arts, from cabaret to opera, and symphony to pop.

"We're excited to have such an outstanding line-up of Australian talent to add to an incredible program and open Australia Week activities in New York," says Australian Consul General in New York and Australia Week Steering Committee Chairman, The Hon John Olsen, AO.

"With the diversity of notable Australian performers and the backdrop of New York's renowned Carnegie Hall, it will surely be a night of extraordinary music. This is also an opportunity to profile our talent to the U.S. market, and underscore Australia's artistic sophistication."

With a career spanning more than four decades, Olivia Newton-John has established herself as one of the top female vocalists of all time with more than 100 million albums sold; four Grammy Awards; an Emmy Award; numerous Country Music, American Music, Billboard and People's Choice Awards; ten #1 hits and over 15 top 10 singles. Her co-starring role with John Travolta in Grease catapulted Olivia into super-stardom. The film remains the most successful movie musical in history. Other film credits include Xanadu, Sordid Lives, It's My Party and more. Olivia has dedicated herself to a variety of humanitarian causes. In the 90's, she successfully overcame her own battle with breast cancer and her personal victory against cancer led her to announce the creation of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre (ONJCWC) in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia.

Simon Burke is one of the true icons of the entertainment world, having achieved critical and popular acclaim on stage, screen and beyond in both Australia and the UK. Simon's many stage credits include Marius in the original Australian cast of Les Miserables, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Whizzer in Falsettos (nominated Best Musical Performance Sydney Theatre Critics' Circle Awards) and Billy Crocker in Anything Goes for which he received the Green Room Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In London, he played Raoul in Phantom of the Opera and Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music starring with Dame Judi Dench at the Royal National Theatre.
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) won world acclaim in 1998 with Australia's first production of Wagner's Ring Cycle. The performance was repeated in 2004, and was again lauded by critics around the globe. Excelling as a dynamic and versatile orchestra, the ASO presents concerts to suit all musical tastes - from pop, jazz, opera, and rock - exploring new styles for today's audiences.

Amanda Harrison made her stage debut at 18 in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love. In 2000, she became a finalist at the inaugural Voice of Musical Theatre for BBC Radio 2, which was featured in the BBC documentary, Broadway Babies. She followed this achievement with her London West End debut in Mama Mia! Her performance in the Australian tour of We Will Rock You won her the 2004 Helpmann Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. The following year, Amanda received both Greenroom and Helpmann Award nominations for Best Female Artist in a Lead Role for her performance in Leader Of The Pack - The Ellie Greenwich Musical. Amanda can currently be seen originating the role of Elphaba in the Melbourne production of Wicked.

Lior's folk and indie mix of styles and vocals have earned him several ARIA nominations and his debut independent album Autumn Flow went Gold, making it one of the most successful independent debut releases by an Australian artist.

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu received two awards at the 2008 ARIAS, including Best Independent Release. Hailed by The Sydney Morning Herald as "the country's most gifted Aboriginal musician," Gurrumul will showcase his amazing and beautiful mix of gospel, soul and folk sound, underpinned by the traditional songs of the Yonglu people of east Arnhem Land.

Jimmy Barnes is regarded as the elder statesman of Australian rock ‘n' roll and has carved out the most successful solo career of any performer in Australian rock history. Popularly known as 'Barnesy,' the gravel-voiced singer has been feted by prominent Australians of all persuasions.

Ursula Yovich's distinctively soulful and hauntingly beautiful voice is infused with the richness and power of her two cultures; Western European and Australian Aboriginal. For her 2007 performance in Capricornia she was awarded a Helpmann Award, Australia's highest honor in theatre. Ursula is currently starring in Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

David Campbell burst on to the New York cabaret scene more than a decade ago. In the past year, he has had two platinum-selling albums (The Swing Sessions and The Swing Sessions 2), performed a season with the Australian National Opera and won acclaim for his performance of Bobby in the Sydney production of Company.

Pei-Jee & Pei-Sian Ng are twin cellists who have established themselves as two of Australia's leading musicians. Pei-Jee was named Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year in 2001, while Pei-Sian recently won the Royal Overseas Competition in London and was named 2007 Commonwealth Musician of the Year.

Simon Tedeschi is a classical pianist often described by respected critics and musical peers as one of the finest artists in the world. With a successful career already secured at age 26, Tedeschi first performed a Mozart Concerto at age 9 in the Sydney Opera House. He has a string of international prizes and scholarships under his belt, including winning the Open Age Concerto Series and ‘Most Outstanding in all Youth Section' in Italy (1994) and receiving the top prize in the keyboard section of the Royal Overseas League Music Competition in London (2002).

Alex Lewis began performing at a young age as a chorister at St. Albans Cathedral in England and was featured as a soloist in concert and opera around the world. He commenced his formal training in 2002 at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Since then, he has been featured in numerous concerts and musical productions throughout Australia including Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd (Opera Australia) and Barrett in Titanic the Musical. He is currently playing Raoul in the Australian tour of The Phantom of the Opera. Alex was the recipient of the 2006 New York Study Award.

Chong Lim is well known as the Musical Director for the Australian hit TV series Dancing With The Stars and It Takes Two, as well as for John Farnham, Kylie Minogue and Olivia Newton-John. He has also composed and conducted music for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Melbourne 2006, and the 2006 Asian Games Doha. In his long and distinguished career, he has worked with the who's who of the Australian and international music industry. Chong recently released his first CD, Let's Go Dancing with Chong Lim and his Orchestra through Universal Music.
Arvo Volmer is the Chief Conductor and Music Director for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. His success at the 1989 Nikolai Malko Competition in Copenhagen launched an international career, which saw Volmer conducting almost all of Scandinavia's orchestras. He has also been Music Director for the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (1993-2001) and Finland's Oulu Symphony Orchestra (1994-2005). In 2004, Volmer was appointed Chief Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Volmer's recording of the complete Sibelius symphonies with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra will be released in May 2009.

Ross Mollison (Producer) formed the Ross Mollison Group, a live entertainment production, management, marketing and publicity agency in 1989. Current clients include; the Sydney Opera House, the Arts Centre Melbourne, Circus Oz, Shane Warne The Musical, Australian Open, Arena Film and Cirque du Soleil. In 1999, Ross Mollison Productions co-produced the big-top touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats with The Really Useful Company, which had its premiere at Uluru in Central Australia. RMP's next production was the 2001 Australian tour of Puppetry of the Penis, and has since co-produced seasons in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Switzerland, New Zealand, and the USA including Off-Broadway. In North America, RMP has produced the Drama Desk Award winning production SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW, at the Union Square Theatre in New York as well as in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, Mexico and a recent Broadway season at the Helen Hayes Theatre. Other productions include Spiegelworld, which played three successful summers in New York and is slated for a U.S. tour and a season at the 2009 Australian Open in Melbourne. In January 2008, Ross Mollison was selected by the office of Australia's New York Consul General to produce the first ever Australia Plays Broadway concert at Lincoln Center. Ross currently serves as a director of The Production Company and the National Institute of Circus Arts (Australia).

G'Day USA: Australia Week 2009 is produced by the Los Angeles and New York offices of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Qantas Airways, Tourism Australia and Austrade.

Australia Plays Broadway takes place Tuesday, January 20 at 8:00 PM at Carnegie Hall (57th Street at Seventh Avenue). Tickets $50-$120. On sale now at www.carnegiehall.org, by phone at (212) 247-7800 or at the Carnegie Hall box office (Mon-Sat. 11AM-6PM, Sun. 12PM-6PM).

For more information, please visit: www.australia-week.com

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